In her essay “The Individual Artist,” Toni Morrison wrote, “We love so much the idea of the struggling artist that we enfranchise not the artist, but the struggle. In fact, we insist on it. “
Rebekah and Justin Borucki, creative entrepreneurs and Silver Lining’s most successful SLAP couple, both lived the “struggling artist’s life” for many years. Rebekah — a best-selling author, wellness coach, and publisher — started Row House Publishing in 2021 in response to the systemic race and gender-based inequalities she experienced and observed within the mainstream book industry. Justin, a celebrity portrait photographer, swore his allegiance to art and photography in his college years and never looked back.
Rebekah and Justin have had many successes with SLAP™, but it is the consistency in their Mindset and Strategy Calls that really excites them. Both attest to the support of their SLAPstrategists allowing them to build more organized and sustainable businesses. “When I came to SLAP™” Rebekah shared, “the system demystified a lot of different pieces of business for me. It taught me how to be organized, how to make an action plan, how to track my business habits and profit, all those things.” Justin agreed, “My tintype project was headed in a good direction when I joined SLAP™, but I was still pretty disorganized.” Consistent Mindset Calls with his SLAPexperts encouraged him to track his behaviors and revenues, giving him more control of his time and resources.
Actions = Results
Rebekah and Justin are high-performing Small Business Owners. Here, Justin shares insight into how SLAP™ has helped him reach his goals.
Q: As you reflect on where you are today and where you were before using SLAP™ — what has been the biggest change in your behavior?
Justin Borucki: Well, as I said earlier, I was a pretty disorganized business owner before SLAP™. I didn’t have any systems in place to track my metrics or revenue or anything like that. So I never really knew how much money I was actually making. With SLAP™, I’ve become much more organized and can easily track my finances and sales data.
Q: What impact do you think that shift in behavior has had on your business? And in your life?
JB: This helped me set and accomplish bigger sales goals, which resulted in a pretty big dream coming true this year — opening my own studio in Brooklyn!
I lived in Brooklyn when I first started as a photographer, and the neighborhood has inspired my work. After meeting and falling in love with Bex, we moved to New Jersey. I love this place for growing a family, but I missed working in the city. Opening my Brooklyn studio has been a major achievement and a full-circle moment for my career.
SLAPcommunity Call Out
No one succeeds alone, and SLAP™ supplies all of our small business owners with an incredible system of support. Here, Rebekah brags on the support she has received that has helped her become a SLAPstar!
Rebekah Borucki: The reason why I even came to SLAP™ was because I desperately needed capital to complete a gigantic book order, and no one would give me a loan. When I earned my first SLAPloan — not because of my pristine credit score, but because of my consistent habits as a business owner — it was a career-defining moment and a personal victory. I had no business experience whatsoever — like high school dropout, business acumen, MBA, or anything like that. When I received my first SLAPloan in 2021, it was the biggest boost of confidence that I had what it takes to succeed in business.
Support These Small Business Owners!
Row House Publishing has a book for literally any reader, from cookbooks for busy families to celebrity memoirs. Rebekah is also a sought-after writing coach and the Vocal20 cohort leader for Silver Lining’s Impact5X Economic Justice Initiative. Vocal20 supports marginalized writers looking to self-publish or attract a book deal. Head to their website to find the next book on your To-Read List.
Like all creative entrepreneurs, it is both encouraging and profitable when their clients buy their work. Justin has several prints for purchase of some of his favorite celebrity portraits on his website and portrait sessions and classes available for folks in the Tri-State area. You can learn all about his offerings on his website, borucki.com, as well as his Instagram and Facebook.
